Business People Vermont March 2017 : Page 8

FEATURE STORY VERMONT COMMONS SCHOOL Continued from p. 6 a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and sociology. While a student there he was active in a summer program called Summerbridge (now known as the Breakthrough Collaborative), an aca-demic enrichment program for inner-city kids in Louisville. “These are programs for kids at high risk for not completing high school,” Mahaffey explains. “They feature classes in the morning and a summer camp expe-rience in the afternoon, with the hopes of getting them into advanced programs in high school and then on to college.” The outdoors component, in Mahaffey’s view, was elemental — for exercise and to incorporate environ-mental learning. But also for confidence building. Crucial, too, was the broaden-ing experience for the students of see-ing, touching, and learning about other places and cultures. His first job after graduation was a year with Sierra Designs, an outdoor com-pany in Berkeley, California. From there, he would teach a year in Palm Springs, California; six years at two schools in Kentucky; a year in Washington state; two years in Colorado; three years in Asheville, North Carolina; and a year in Portland, Maine, before landing back in Louisville as director of diversity for a thousand-student private school. “The school made a huge commitment to diversity,” he says, “but the job meant constantly working against the school’s historic identity, to try to change it.” This was what he was doing in 2014 when a national recruiting firm encour-aged him to apply for the head-of-school position at Vermont Commons. The dif-ference was stark, and enticing. “You come to a school where the mis-sion is already aligned with your beliefs and your values! When we [Mahaffey and his wife, Era MacDonald] read the mission and guiding principles, our response was, ‘Oh, my gosh! If we could build a school to raise our children in, this is what we would do.’ This was com-ing to a place where we didn’t have to try to change the school’s identity and culture.” Rather, Mahaffey could bring his expertise to bear on fulfilling the stated mission. The enthusiasm was shared by Brian Leffler, a local industrialist (vice pres-ident of Instrumart) and chair of the school’s board of trustees, then serving Each fall, winter, and spring, faculty members take students away for experiential learning. Jasmine Walker (left) is assistant head of school; Jill Strawbridge is director of admissions; and Mary Hamilton is director of advancement and marketing. on the search committee seeking a new school leader. “Dexter is young for a head of school,” says Leffler, “and this was his first job at that level. But the advisor, providing a list of candidates, said, ‘Make sure you include Dexter in the final round.’ “I was super impressed. He’s an aca-demic’s academic, but he’s a very, very compassionate leader, with empathy. That works for the faculty, the staff, the students — it works for everybody. And when people meet Dexter, it’s ‘Yes! I want this guy to educate my kid!’ “Now I think the school is the best it’s ever been.” Vermont Commons School (VCS) was founded by the former Champlain College president Robert Skiff in 1997. “Commons” is a traditional English concept particularly associated in the United States with New England. It alludes to resources, such as land and a commonality of interests, that are shared by the community. Certainly children, and their success and educa-tion, are among these. VCS started modestly: around 20 students in the first year, the rented facilities consisting of a small office space and two classrooms converted from what had been meeting rooms when property-owner George Starbuck based his environmental-engineering firm, Aquatec, there. Gradually, the school grew and took over more of the building, finally purchasing it from Starbuck in 2011. “Along the way, George was the biggest philanthropist we had,” says Mahaffey. “He would renovate spaces on our behalf, with no expense to us because we couldn’t afford it.” In 2015, VCS undertook a $1.1 mil-lion capital campaign for major renova-tions and purchased an adjacent plot of land for recreation and outdoor classes. Completed in spring 2016, the building at 75 Green Mountain Drive was renamed the George and Pammella Starbuck Building, an honor Mahaffey was able to impart to George Starbuck shortly before the benefactor died of cancer. Class sizes are small, optimally around 10 to 14 in a “section.” At different grade levels a class might consist of one section or two, as some students leave — for more competitive sports programs or the social opportunities in a larger stu-dent body — and others transfer in. This year’s graduating class, Mahaffey says, will number 17. Though a majority of the students live in Chittenden County, many make the daily trip from towns as distant as those in the Mad River Valley and Grand Isle. Describing what VCS looks for in its young applicants, Mahaffey frequently uses the term “mission fit.” And he is clear that, while curiosity and intellec-tual aptitude are requisites — “They have to be able to do the program” — the school has greater ambitions than cookie-cutting future Harvard and Stanford Ph.Ds. “Peter Goff, our heritage faculty member [Goff has been with the school since its inception] says one of the things we do here is make leaders. And for us, it’s leaders for good. We’re a college prep school in terms of making sure that stu-dents are fully ready for rigorous aca-demics and a challenging life beyond 8 BUSINESS PEOPLE–VERMONT • MARCH 2017 BR AD PET TENGILL